immigration

President Obama's Very Simple Plan to Win Latino Voters

Jim Newell · 11/11/11 05:33PM

Huge support and turnout from Latino voters will be a key part of President Obama's reelection campaign. What must he do to ingratiate himself, again? Nothing, really. In his mind, he can just show some clips of Republicans talking about immigration and pretty much seal things up.

ICE Officer to People Whose Home He Entered: 'the Warrant Is Coming Out of My Balls'

Max Read · 10/23/11 11:05AM

On October 20 of last year, two armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents broke into the two-bedroom Nashville apartment of Angel Enrique and Jesus Antonio, shattering a window and shouting racial slurs. Did they even have a warrant, Enrique and Antonio asked? "The warrant," one agent told them, "is coming out of my balls." So... no.

'Liberal Extremist' Court Says Alabama Can't Track Students' Immigration Info

Max Read · 10/15/11 10:09AM

All Alabama wants to do is stop the Mexicans from coming to its state and taking "the jobs nobody wants to do," by forcing visible minorities to carry proof of legal immigration status on them at all times, and also tracking the immigration status of schoolchildren (who are literally stealing education), but will the "liberal extremists" of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals let them? Noooo!

South Park Imagines a Mexican-Free America

Matt Cherette · 10/12/11 10:52PM

What would happen if illegal immigrants from Mexico concluded that economic conditions in the U.S. were just as bad—or worse—than those in their native country and decided to return home en masse? How would the US Border Patrol deal with a reverse immigration crisis? That was the plot of tonight's South Park, and you'll find answers to both those questions in the highlight reel above.

Alabama's Draconian Anti-Immigrant Law Is Having the Desired Effect

John Cook · 10/04/11 12:54PM

In June, Alabama passed a law designed to punish adult illegal immigrants, minor illegal immigrants, and American children who made the error of being born to illegal immigrants. Last week, a federal judge upheld key portions of the law, and it's already starting to work! Alabama seems... cleansed.

Stephen Colbert's Radical Plan to Curb Illegal Immigration

Matt Cherette · 09/29/11 01:43AM

A week after he suggested the U.S. government pillage the caskets of dead people to reduce its budget deficit, Stephen Colbert used tonight's Report to put forth an even more controversial plan for addressing the problem of illegal immigration and the "anchor baby" phenomenon. Let's just say that the umbilical cord is about to become much more important.

Meet the College Chancellor with a Suburban Sex Dungeon

Maureen O'Connor · 08/01/11 12:48PM

Last week, immigration officials raided the University of Northern Virginia, a for-profit college that was recently the subject of a report on student visa scams. Is there anything that could possibly make this boring story about immigration loopholes and higher education interesting?

The Racist and Homophobic Yard Sale Posting You Won't Believe

Brian Moylan · 07/18/11 12:53PM

Imagine a bargain hunter's shock and dismay when responding to an ad on Craigslist listing a bunch of possessions for sale and then receiving an email announcing that gay people, Muslims, and illegal immigrants aren't allowed to purchase the wares. Read it for yourself.

Married Gay Couple Wins Fight Against Deportation

Richard Lawson · 07/01/11 05:12PM

Though New Jersey couple Josh Vandiver, a Princeton grad student, and Henry Velandia, a Venezuelan dancer, were legally married in Connecticut, because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Velandia was still facing deportation on an expired visa. Well, no longer!

John McCain Blames Wildfires on Madcap Torch-Wielding Illegals

Jim Newell · 06/20/11 11:22AM

Arizona has been having some troubles again, this time with massive wildfires torching the already barren hellscape. You know why? Because it's a desert. All you need is, say, a golf club nicking a rock, or some other painfully simple action, and boom: death flames everywhere. Or you can just blame the illegal immigrants in their pyromanic fly-by-night encampments, as Sen. John McCain has.

Would a Moat With Alligators Solve Our Illegal Immigration Problems?

Jim Newell · 05/10/11 04:11PM

Barack Obama visited El Paso, Texas today to jump start the case for comprehensive immigration reform, yet again, as well as to make fun of Republicans. He mocks the party's ever-moving goalposts on border security, such as wanting more and more troops on the border and demanding an even "higher" fence. "Maybe they'll need a moat," he went on. "Maybe they'll want alligators in the moat." You mean we haven't even tried this yet? Well, now it's too late; alligator prices are through the roof these days.

What Do You Get for Donating to Arizona's Border Fence?

Jeff Neumann · 05/09/11 03:07AM

Tea Party Patriots™ and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer have initiated a Kickstarter-style scheme to solicit donations for a border fence to keep the Mexicans out of their righteous, desert oasis. Pretty clever. So, what can donors expect in return for their contributions (besides resting in the knowledge that they're True Patriots, of course)? The sponsor of the bill that Brewer signed, state Senator Steve Smith of "birther bill" fame, told the AP that contributors might receive a piece of paper that reads, "[I] helped build the Arizona wall." Uh, cool. He adds, "I think it's going to be a really, really neat thing." Golly, keeping them dang Mexicans out of America's grundle is going to be just swell. Pitch in while there's still time! You'll also be paying for the 50 cents an hour that Arizona inmates will receive for their work on the fence. Win-win.

At Least Six States Less Racist Than Arizona

Jeff Neumann · 03/06/11 01:39PM

It's been close to a year since Arizona passed SB-1070 — the anti-immigration law that encourages racial profiling and can land a cop in jail if they don't do it — and several states were supposed ride the wave of hate and pass similar bills. But, as Muzaffar Chishti from the Migration Policy Institute told the Los Angeles Times, "Now I think reality has set in."